Traits Explained:Dangerously Curious: You gain a +1 bonus on Use Magic Device checks, and Use Magic Device is always a class skill for you.Scholar of Ruins: You gain a +1 trait bonus to Knowledge (geography) and Knowledge (dungeoneering) checks. One of these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you.

Feats Explained:Power Attack: You can choose to take a –1 penalty on all melee attack rolls and combat maneuver checks to gain a +2 bonus on all melee damage rolls. This bonus to damage is increased by half ( +50%) if you are making an attack with a two-handed weapon, a one handed weapon using two hands, or a primary natural weapon that adds 1-1/2 times your Strength modifier on damage rolls. This bonus to damage is halved (–50%) if you are making an attack with an off-hand weapon or secondary natural weapon. When your base attack bonus reaches +4, and every 4 points thereafter, the penalty increases by –1 and the bonus to damage increases by +2. You must choose to use this feat before making an attack roll, and its effects last until your next turn. The bonus damage does not apply to touch attacks or effects that do not deal hit point damage.Friendly Switch: As part of your movement or as a 5-foot-step, you can move into the space occupied by an ally of your size or smaller, which displaces the ally into the space you just left. Your ally must be willing and able to move and able to occupy the space you were in. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity. This does not count toward your ally’s movement on his next turn.

Class Features Explained:Fast Movement: A barbarian’s land speed is faster than the norm for her race by +10 feet.Rage: A barbarian can call upon inner reserves of strength and ferocity, granting her additional combat prowess. Starting at 1st level, a barbarian can rage for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + her Constitution modifier. At each level after 1st, she can rage for 2 additional rounds. Temporary increases to Constitution, such as those gained from rage and spells like bear’s endurance, do not increase the total number of rounds that a barbarian can rage per day. A barbarian can enter rage as a free action. The total number of rounds of rage per day is renewed after resting for 8 hours, although these hours do not need to be consecutive.

While in rage, a barbarian gains a +4 morale bonus to her Strength and Constitution, as well as a +2 morale bonus on Will saves. In addition, she takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class. The increase to Constitution grants the barbarian 2 hit points per Hit Dice, but these disappear when the rage ends and are not lost first like temporary hit points. While in rage, a barbarian cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration.

A barbarian can end her rage as a free action and is fatigued after rage for a number of rounds equal to 2 times the number of rounds spent in the rage. A barbarian cannot enter a new rage while fatigued or exhausted but can otherwise enter rage multiple times during a single encounter or combat. If a barbarian falls unconscious, her rage immediately ends, placing her in peril of death.

Bio:

From a young age, Aurek has been a seeker – searching out things that he never quite understood. It started when he sought his way out of the comfort of his family home in the middle of a snowstorm. He became lost in the swirling miasma of frozen mist, entranced by its beauty, and he wandered off into the night. Several days later, he was found by a hunting party, who heard cries coming from within an abandoned dwarven mine. They discovered young Aurek after he had succumbed to hypothermia and exhaustion, clutching an ancient shovel in his hands, unwilling to let it go, as though it were his own life.

From that point forward, brought back from the brink of death, Aurek’s spirits soared as he built his body up to fight against the ravages of the winter: he spent many nights conditioning his body to fight the cold, sprinting in the darkness, surrounded by the snows of his homeland. He continually sought to improve himself, finding new ways to bolster his already impressive physique, running for days at a time, pushing himself to the point of exhaustion, relishing in finding out more of the limits of his body. It was not long before he ran, one night, into the cave of his youth. Drawing up his aching body, he set forth to explore, and as he did, discovered more about his bloodline than he ever had known before. Deep within the confines of the abandoned shafts, he uncovered a kobold sentry, part of a larger encampment. The sentry sounded the alarm, believing Aurek to be an advance scout of a larger raid, and in a panic, Aurek grabbed a nearby shovel and attacked the Kobold – an action to this day he attributes to his fear rather than his intelligence. Shortly, a group of kobold skirmishers arrived to harry Aurek while the bulk of their army moved to seal the other mining shafts. Faced with pain unlike anything he had ever dreamed up as their slingstones bit into his skin, Aurek’s blood heated and he lost control of himself. He refuses to speak of anything beyond his encounter with the scout, but there are some unexplained scars across his back which he also refuses to talk about that belie some sort of enslavement. When pressed on the incident, Aurek merely mentions, always quietly, that there is a price associated with knowledge.

Now, in his late twenties, Aurek has let his brown hair grow, no longer sporting the closely cut style of his youth. His close-shaven beard likewise speaks of his worldliness, unlike the other men from his tribe outside of Winter Haven, who wear theirs wild and full. His eyes are always inquisitive, always seeking, always hopeful. His demeanor seems to be generally friendly, but blunt. Suspended on his chest from a leather thong is a constantly visible emblem of a wolf’s head, cast in iron. The emblem is always visible, even when he wraps his Northerners furs around himself, he takes pains to display it. He rarely removes his heavy leather tunic, but on occasion when he does, a thick green undershirt allows him to be slightly more comfortable in more temperate climes than the north. He often tucks his gloves into his belt when they are not required. His pants are in the style of a northerner, but lack much commonality with true Northern style gear: there is a distinct lack of fur or hide present. When colder weather presents itself, Aurek happily retrieves a set of fur-lined pants from the confines of his backpack. Regardless, his pants are always tucked neatly into his thick soled heavy leather boots. The craftsmanship of his boots is not exquisite, but they seem to be quite comfortable for long journeys.

He keeps his bardiche firmly in hand, often using it as support during long journeys. All of his personal belongings are gently packed into his backpack, such as his rubbing charcoals and papers, with the exception of his shaving kit, which is always placed in his waterproof bag and secured from his belt. From the top of his backpack juts the handle of an ancient shovel, to which he always has a bundle of winter furs secured, for use as blankets or shelter. On either side of his pack both an iron spike and a torch are secured. A battleaxe slung horizontally across his lower back, for occasions when his bardiche is too cumbersome to bring to bear. Strapped to the outer side of his right thigh are two throwing axes, both of which appear to be used for many more purposes than they were crafted.